I Solemnly Swear
by Books and Cleverness
Summary: --- Lily Evans' past haunts her while she struggles to make it through her 7th year at Hogwarts. James Potter's persistence is confusing her and she is unsure that she hates that arrogant, egoistical boy because he isn’t so self-centered any longer . .
1. Default Chapter

Hey! My name is Brenda and I will be the author of this fan-fic. I wrote this about three years ago and after modifying it, I typed it and now I am posting it here. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thanks for reading!  
  
_**SUMMARY:** For decades, The All-Terrible Lord Voldemort has sought to take over the Muggle and Magical worlds, but there is something, or rather someone, he needs before he can accomplish his lifelong plot.--- Lily Evans' past haunts her while she struggles to make it through her 7th year at Hogwarts. James Potter's persistence is confusing her and she is unsure that she hates that arrogant, egoistical boy because he isn't so self-centered any longer . . . Little does she know that James Potter isn't the only man after her skin._

**I Solemnly Swear...**

_A Lily and James fan fiction by Brenda  
  
**Chapter 1:** Behind the Sunflowers_

Another typical night in the city of London, England. The stars twinkled like glittery diamonds against the velvet, dark sky, the stubborn crickets sang endlessly to the lull night, and the lights of the squared houses all over the cities blacked out one by one. And even though it was the windiest night yet, a seventeen-year-old by the name of Lily Evans sat out in her back yard.  
  
The beautiful siren day dreamed— there was nothing else left to do. Sighing deeply, Lily swung back and forth on the swing-bench on her back yard. She focused her emerald green eyes on the star-clashed sky and dreamed on . . .  
  
"FREAK!" shrieked an unpleasant voice from inside the Evans residence that made Lily jump. "Mum said to come back inside, NOW!"  
  
Lily rolled her eyes at her stupid horse-faced sister's voice and gathered the books that she had been reading moments ago but later abandoned. She was about to stand up from her swing when something swished above her head. If it wasn't for her quick reflexes to bend down, the thing would've crashed straight into Lily's forehead.  
  
Lily straightened up and turned around to see what had caused the slight commotion. "Oh!" she exclaimed when she realized what it was. Perched on the swing's recliner was a sculptural, tawny owl. In its beak it carried an official looking envelope along with a parcel that was tied around its leg.  
  
Untying the parcel around the owl's leg, and giving it an affectionate ruffle atop its head, Lily held it onto the night so it could spread its mighty winds and soar into the night. After Lily stared after it for a few minutes and watched it disappear, she settled back into her swing and opened the envelope first. Inside was her annual welcome letter to Hogwarts. But this year, its contents were different:  
_Dear Miss L.A. Evans,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have been announced Head Girl by our school council. Under new circumstances set by the Magical-Human Resources Department of the School Board, the selected Head Boy and Girl will be tested on their inhabiting skills; therefore, the selected will be obligated to share a new dormitory set out for them. Your badge is provided in the parcel attached. Congratulations and we hope to see you September 1st!  
  
Sincerely,  
Professor McGonagall  
**Deputy Headmistress **_  
  
"What?" said Lily to herself once she had finished reading the letter. The letter she had just received was the weirdest ever. She knew that the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, was known for being a bit off his rocker a few times but this way too much. On the other hand, she couldn't help but to be delighted for being head girl. "I am Head Girl," she told herself.  
  
"FREAK!" came Petunia Evan's voice once again, shaking Lily's happiness a bit. "I TOLD YOU TO GET YOUR PATHETIC SELF OVER HERE THIS INSTANT!"  
  
"Coming!" yelled Lily back. "You don't have to be so polite!"  
  
Before Lily did anything else, she set the bewildering letter aside and picket up the parcel, wrapped neatly with thick, brown paper. With shaky, excited fingers, lily carefully opened the parcel and opened the lid of the box. Lily gasped. Inside, laid neatly among a scarlet piece of silk, was an alluring golden badge; it could stun anyone. Lily beamed as she saw a large "HG" stamped across the gold of the badge, and engraved on the bottom was "Lily Evans."  
  
Before Petunia would yell at her again, Lily began gathering her stuff once again, but as usual, she was interrupted once more. Something moved among the towering sunflowers along the fence. Lily turned quickly but only to see a dark shadow move across the ground. She furrowed her eyebrows and advanced slowly toward the sunflowers.  
  
"Who's there?" she asked cautiously as she drew nearer to the sunflowers. She reached out slowly to search amidst the leaves of the looming flowers. "Hello?"  
  
But before she knew what was going on, Lily saw a figure standing there. Out of instinct, she tried to scream but a hand reached out of the darkness to cover her mouth and muffle the sound. The harder she tried to scream, the tighter the hand pressed against her mouth.  
  
"Shhh, Lily," said a voice in her ear. "Don't scream. It's me." The force pressing against her face was released and she was free to turn around and see who had given her such a fright.  
Lily stared. Even though this person was hidden in the shadows, she recognized him immediately. "What . . . " Lily realized she was too loud and paused for a second before looking over her shoulder to check that nobody saw them. "What are you doing here?"  
  
The guy in the shadows and smiled. He took a step forward, where the moonlight hit his face. His hazel eyes glimmered in the light of the moon behind his glasses, his jet black hair could've never been messier, and his good-looking face flashed Lily a smile. Any girl would've been willing to sell her soul for James Potter's smile, any girl that is, except Lily Evans.  
  
"Just came over to pay you a visit, is there anything wrong with that?" He slammed the skateboard he had been holding on the ground to rest his foot atop it.  
  
"Shhh!" said Lily, looking over her shoulder once more. "There is when it's almost eleven at night!" said Lily trying her best to keep her voice low. "And stop making noise."  
  
"Eleven at night?" he asked looking down at his watch. "Whoa! Time _does _fly by when you're having fun."  
  
"I don't even want to know how you've been having fun," said Lily immediately and eyeing him suspiciously. He winked and smiled.  
  
"So, What's a beautiful nymph like you doing out here so late?" he asked after there was silence. Lily blushed, as she always did when James sweet-talked her, but she kept a stern face.  
  
"Potter," she began. "To the point. I know you didn't stop by to say hi and to speak your mushy wish-  
wash to me."  
  
He stood silent for some reason. "Just came by to invite you over tomorrow to my place," he said, ignoring Lily's previous remark. "We are just going to hang out by the pool, you know."  
  
Lily crossed her arms and studied James' face. There was a lurch on her stomach as she realized she'd probably hurt his feeling with the 'mushy wish-wash' comment. And even worse was the fact that she was beginning to care whether she hurt his feelings or not after she had done so for ages. "Fine," she said finally. His eyes lit up once again. "Fine. I'll go tomorrow."  
  
"Are you sure?" he said, unable to believe his ears.  
  
"Yeah, I am positive." He smiled and she couldn't help but to smile back.  
  
"Tomorrow, at midday, I'll see you there,"  
  
"LILY!" shrieked Petunia more enraged than ever. "FOR THE LAST TIME, COME INSIDE NOW!" Both Lily and James jumped. Lily looked over her shoulder and saw Petunia's silhouette through the screen of the kitchen window.  
  
"You have to leave now," she said looking back to James. "She can come out here and see you. My mum would kill me if she knew I was out here at eleven speaking with a neighbor boy."  
  
James nodded. "I wouldn't want her to kill you. I'd die myself," he said as a blushing Lily urged him out through the back door of the garden. He climbed his skateboard but before he had done so, Lily had the impression that he wanted to kiss her badly. She was grateful he didn't.  
  
"LILY!"  
  
"Coming!" she yelled back as she heard the rolling of James' skateboard fade away in the distance. She quickly gathered her books and her Hogwarts mail and rand back into the house. To her relief, Petunia hadn't seen James or anything that had happened outside.  
  
Without a word, Lily clasped her belongings tighter to her chest so Petunia wouldn't take them away and burn them like she tends to do behind Mr. and Mrs. Evans' backs. She climbed the stairs to her room and locked herself inside. Stretching out slightly and yawning before going to bed, Lily took a last look at her badge. After smiling at her own victory, she reclined in her pillows and slept . . .


	2. After her skin

Lily sat in her room reading her magazines the following morning when she heard the telephone ringing downstairs. Mrs. Evans picked up the receiver downstairs and minutes later Lily heard her climbing the stairs toward her room.  
  
"It's for you, dear,"  
  
Lily looked up. "For me, Who is it?" she asked since it was strange when somebody called her.  
  
"Your friend, but he appears to be having trouble with the phone," said her mother handing her the phone. Lily frowned slightly as she answered and watched her mother exit her room. "Hello?"  
  
"Lily?" The person at the other end of the line sounded distant.  
  
"Potter," said Lily dully as she realized who it was. "You're holding the phone upside down . . . "  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're . . . holding . . . the microphone . . . onto your ear!" Lily yelled into the speaker.  
  
It took James a couple of seconds to realize what Lily was talking about. A few moments later, he managed to get it right. "Sorry," he said. "Can't get used to this thing."   
  
"It's quite all right,"  
  
Silence.  
  
"So," started James to break off the tension between them. "Are you coming?"  
  
Lily furrowed her eyebrows as she closed her magazine. "I said I was, didn't I?"  
  
"Yeah . . . Just wanted to make sure,"  
  
"Oh," said Lily. This was followed by more silence in which Lily took her time to polish her nails. Once or twice it seemed as if James wanted to say something but couldn't, she he closed his mouth.  
  
"Okay, see you here, then," said James finally.  
  
"Fine," said Lily as she now blew air on her nails to dry them.  
  
"You won't get lost, would you?"  
  
"Um, no," said Lily forcing back a giggle. "At least I don't think so when I live a block away . . . "  
"Right," he replied rather apprehensively. All of a sudden Lily heard tones at the other end of the line, she jumped and held the phone away from her ear. She rolled her eyes as she realized what James was doing.  
  
"Potter . . . " she said dully again, but her voice was drowned in the loud sound of the dial tones. "Potter . . . !" she yelled. "You _already _dialed!"   
  
"Oh, right, so that's how this works," he answered. "So, I'll see you at midday."  
  
"See you at midday," said Lily, and smiling to herself, she hanged up the phone. It wasn't until a few moments later that Lily realized she was smiling. 'Why am I smiling?' she asked herself before slapping herself mentally and returning to her magazines.

The sun burned with intensity over the large city of London. At the scorching noon, Lily grabbed the sac in which she stuffed a large towel and her spare clothes, and made her way down Shell Street over to Charlotte Lane where James lived. It didn't take her long to locate his house since his was the largest of the lot.  
  
Lily knocked on the Potter's front door. "Is James home?" Lily asked politely at the blonde woman who answered the door. Mrs. Potter beamed and stepped aside for Lily to enter.  
  
"You must be Lily," Mrs. Potter said looking at Lily from foot to toe. "James has told us a great deal about you. You are much prettier than he said."  
  
Lily could feel her face growing red. "Thanks," she mumbled. The idea of James talking to his parents about her didn't make her any more comfortable about the situation.  
  
"Come on down, dear. James and his friends are by the pool." She led Lily through the den and out the large screen door.  
  
Lily walked outside and felt the warm breeze of the day once again. She looked around. Apparently, a few of the seventeen-year-olds from Hogwarts had decided to stop by and hang out by James' pool. It was at least twenty known faces in that place. As soon as Lily walked into the back yard of the Potter's residence, James immediately jumped out of the pool and walked over to her, smiling from ear to ear. However, there was someone else who wasn't as pleased at her arrival.  
  
As James sprinted over to Lily, she looked over his shoulder and saw a girl with tempting, luscious blonde hair and a royal blue bathing suit sitting in a beach chair. The girl scowled and whispered behind her hand to the brunette next to her while still glaring at Lily, who furrowed her eyebrows and recognized the girl as Gina Harvey from Hogwarts.  
"Hey, Lily, glad you made it," grinned James as he took Lily by her wrist and slowly led her over to where he was sitting previously. Before Lily could release herself from James' touch, he had already taken her over to where an extremely good-looking boy with elegant black hair was.  
  
"Hey, Mrs. Potter," taunted Sirius as he flashed her a charming grin.  
  
Lily rolled her eyes and took a deep sigh. "Sirius, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that."  
  
"Not enough," said Sirius as he gave James thumbs up which Lily failed to notice.   
  
"Wanna swim?" asked James after Lily sat down at the edge of the pool and dipped her feet into the cool water.  
  
"I am afraid not," said Lily, shrugging slightly.  
  
James smirked. "What's the matter, don't know how to swim?"  
  
Lily looked down at her feet as she dangled them over the edge of the pool into the water. She looked up at to where Gina was and her gaze burned into Lily as she muttered nonstop to her brunette friend. "I just don't want to embarrass you," Lily said, looking back at James.  
  
Sirius laughed loudly before diving into the water.   
  
James frowned slightly. "Embarrass me?" he asked in mock indignance. After Lily nodded reassuringly, he added, "Well, I want to see that for myself."  
  
"Are you daring me to something, Potter?" Lily asked innocently.  
  
"It's a challenge, Evans," he smiled slyly. "Are you willing to accept or are you a coward?"  
  
"I more than accept. What's the challenge?" she asked as she stood up and prepared to stretch out her legs.   
  
James stood up as well and looked over at her. "The challenge is to swim across the pool— from deep to shallow water and back."  
  
"Fine with me," said Lily as she took off the shirt she wore on top of her bathing suit. She caught a glimpse of James and realized he hadn't stared away all the time. "Under water or above water?" She asked in hopes that he would look away.   
  
"Bellow water," he said snapping back to reality.  
"Ok, I am ready," she said as they both stood at the deep side of the pool. James stood besides her and they both positioned themselves, ready to dive in the water. Nothing happened for a while and Lily realized she had to count down since James wasn't going to. "On your marks . . . get set . . . go!"  
  
Just as these words left her lips, Lily and James dived into the water. A cool rush washed over her as she submerged into the depths of the pool. She opened her eyes underwater and looked to her right and saw James trailing, the idea of winning and ruining James' ego made her stroke harder. After a few seconds, Lily couldn't feel her arms any more for swimming so fiercely but it wasn't until she reached the wall of the end of the pool that she swam above the surface to gasp for air.


End file.
